My Arms are Blue!

by thekyuubivixen

Sonic and crew watch the television show Sonic Boom...and may or may not go crazy in the process. Rated T for language (ironic, isn't it?)

15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer- I don't own the games or the show.

This thing is a monster. It's probably the longest chapter I've ever written on this site, and if you had followed my other stories, you know that I can write long chapters. But you guys deserve it though, after waiting for so long!

Enjoy!

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Rouge screamed in extreme shock, and her distressed shouts only grew louder when she realized that it wasn't her voice filling the air.

On the other hand, Eggman felt like he'd been dunked in ice cold water, frozen with his mouth agape in a silent scream.

Everyone else — sans Metal — covered their ears at the sound of 'Eggman' losing his mind.

Shadow scowled as he sent the 'human' the nastiest look imaginable, his ears pressed his against head in an attempt to save his eardrums. "What in the hell is wrong with you, doctor?"

"Besides the usual," Metal quipped, eying the human as well.

Rouge ignored the both of them, nearly hyperventilating as she stared at her hands. She then suddenly jumped up off the couch — startling a recovering Knuckles — and started to pat herself down because this couldn't be happening, right? Not to her! She hadn't done anything wrong...recently!

She brought her trembling hands up to her face and felt hair on her upper lip. She had a mustache and she was human and she could feel the high-blood pressure and the extra fat and the curves in all the wrong places and-

Rouge screamed again.

Sonic had no idea what was going on, but it was getting old fast. He doubted that anyone here wanted to go deaf. "Calm down, Eggman!" he yelled, and 'Eggman' stared at him with wide eyes. "You losin' it or what?"

Rouge jabbed a shaking finger in the azure speedster's direction, voice breathy. "Don't...ever call me that again!"

Sonic blinked, sharing an uncertain look with a flabbergasted Tails beside him. "...You don't want me to call you Eggman?"

Amy was giving the 'doctor' concerned glances. "He's totally crazy! Did...did the thing do that?"

Knuckles was tense, ready to attack if 'Eggman' did something unpredictable. 'He' looked pretty unhinged. "I don't doubt it. Eggman, if you-"

The 'human' whirled on him, 'his' teeth clenched. "What did I just say?" Rouge gestured to herself, now regretting her decision to sit in on this insanity. She'd happily do paperwork if it meant keeping her second X-chromosome. "I'm...I'm not Eggman! I'm Rouge!"

Shadow glared at 'him'. "Doctor, I don't know what idiotic stunt you're trying to pull here, but-"

Rouge glared right back. "This isn't a stunt, hon!"

Shadow winced at that, his expression morphing into one of disgust. "Don't say that again. Ever." He felt violated.

Amy wanted to gag because that sounded so wrong coming from 'his' mouth. "Ewwww! Eggman, what — why-"

"She's telling the truth…" Heads turned toward 'Rouge', and the real Rouge slumped in relief because surely the others would believe her now. Eggman slowly glanced up from his hands, feeling short, lighter, and slightly disproportionate. He locked eyes with himself, and his breath hitched. "I'm Eggman," he said, his voice way too feminine for his tastes. No villain could have this type of voice and be successful!

Knuckles narrowed his eyes, glancing between the bat and the doctor. There was no way they were in each other's bodies. Sure, some of the things that had gone on in his house was basically impossible, but, "Are you two pulling something? Is this some kind of prank?"

"I wish that this was a prank, rodent!" Eggman answered sharply, taking a step towards him. "I — ack!" He then nearly twisted an ankle landing on his heeled boot wrongly. Eggman was a mess of flailing arms and wings as he fell, creating a cloud of confetti around him. He groaned as he sat up, glaring at the boot he was wearing and ignoring the incredulous stares trained on him. "How do you not break an ankle every time you wear these?!"

"Nevermind my shoes!" Rouge never thought that she'd be saying that a day in her life. They were her babies second only to the emeralds. She shuffled over to the downed bat and looked him over. "Did you break anything? I swear doctor if you ruin my perfection-!"

"I'm fine, or I will be after I do this," Eggman said as he took off those death traps, throwing them haphazardly to the side, making Rouge glare. The bat pushed himself off the floor and wiped himself off, carefully avoiding his uh...new features.

Even so, Rouge stiffened as a new problem rose its ugly head. "Hands off the merchandise, mister!" she shouted, and Eggman blinked at her like he didn't know what she was talking about. He knew damn well what she was talking about. "Hands up! Where I can see them!"

Eggman huffed because this was ridiculous — his hands weren't hidden and she couldn't possibly think that he would sink that low — but when she loomed over him with poison in her gaze, he complied. He absently wondered if he'd ever looked that scary or if it was just a woman thing.

Rouge went back over to her or rather Eggman's former seat on the couch and sat down. She then looked at a speechless Knuckles. "I'm going to need you to get up."

The echidna was starting to think that he'd been wrong in his assumption. "But-"

"Up!"

Usually, Knuckles paid Eggman no mind, but 'his' demeanor was absolutely different now and he believed he was actually in danger of being attacked if he didn't move. He gave 'Rouge', who looked like a criminal at a crime scene, a fleeting glance before giving up his seat.

Rouge pointedly looked at Eggman and patted the empty seat beside her. "Sit. Hands in your lap." The bat frowned as he did so, not desiring to experience a woman's wrath fueled by testosterone. However, when he put his new hands in his lap, Rouge ordered again, "Actually, hands by your sides. Too close to dangerous territory, doctor."

Eggman wondered why he was the unfortunate soul to have switched with her.

Tails gaped like a fish for a moment — having been silent throughout that whole interaction — before stuttering, "U-Um...I think they switched bodies…"

"You think?" Amy eyed the bat beside her, feeling a shiver go up her spine because it could've easily been her in Eggman's body. "They just proved it!"

"This…" Knuckles, now sitting on the floor by Shadow, looked from Rouge who was watching the bat beside her like a hawk to Eggman, who seemed more than a little uncomfortable. "This is just wrong."

"You're telling me!" Rouge deeply exhaled, running her meaty hands down her face. "I'm stuck in this disgusting meatwad of a body!"

Shadow had a prominent frown on his muzzle. "Maybe that damn thing actually didn't want you here and is punishing you for visiting."

Rouge folded her arms over her (non-existent) chest. "I would've loved a warning. I would've happily went back to work."

While they were talking, Sonic was trying to hold his laughter in. However, it became too much and the dam broke. He was doubled over, laughs loud and obnoxious. Both Eggman and Rouge threw him glares.

Sonic felt them and sat back up, barely reining in his chuckles. "Look, I'm sorry for laughin' Rouge, but this is gold!"

"This isn't funny, Blue!" Rouge chastised. "Especially since I got the short hand of the stick here!"

"You did?" Eggman would like to beg to differ. "I basically lost half of my body, and at least you're allowed to move!"

"Hush you."

"I will not-"

Multiple gasps filled the air when there was another bright light. It went away as soon as it came, and Tails' breath stuttered when he noticed the sharp knuckles on the back of his hands. "Oh no…"

Rubbing his abused eyes, Sonic turned toward 'Knuckles' who was staring wide-eyed at his namesakes. "What's wrong, Knux?" Even though he had a little suspicion of what just happened and what the bright light meant.

Beside Sonic, 'Tails' released a groan and rubbed his temples. "He's not Knuckles, I am."

"It happened again?!" Amy cried out, having a bad feeling in her gut.

Rouge couldn't help but to feel a little better about her situation.

"I can't believe this..." Tails admired his new weapons before standing up, which he soon released was a mistake. He stumbled forward immediately and would've ran head-first into the bottom of the cursed TV if Shadow hadn't grabbed his wrist in time. He struggled to regain his balance, thinking that the absence of his counterbalancing tails was the culprit of his near fall.

"Thanks, Shadow!" Tails gave the hedgehog an appreciative smile, but the other was too lost in his own thoughts to respond.

Letting the other go and sitting back down on the floor, Shadow was thinking that he was in trouble if all of them ended up switching. He would end up in either Sonic's, Amy's, or Metal's body and damn it all.

Now without a crutch, Tails held his arms out to keep balance. "This is bad…" He chewed his bottom lip. "But it's not as bad as Rouge's and Eggman's switch, right Knuckles?"

Knuckles scoffed and inwardly winced at how young he sounded. Couldn't Tails have gone through puberty before they had endure this craziness? "Hell no it isn't." He smirked at Rouge's glare until one of his gigantic — did foxes need them this big? Like seriously? — ears got pinched. "Gah! What the-?"

"Did you just curse, Knux?" Sonic shook his head in mock-exasperation as he pulled harder, making the other yelp. "You're too young for that stuff, mister!"

The fox fought to push the other off, but that only made his situation worse. Sonic laughed before putting Knuckles in a headlock. "I would put ya in time-out, but I think this is better!"

Knuckles panted as he struggled to pry his head free, but he couldn't do anything with these noodle arms. "I swear if you don't let me go-"

"What are you going to do?" Rouge had to chime in with a mocking smirk, refusing to scratch her suddenly itchy upper lip because that was disgusting. All of this was. "Punch him?"

Sonic barked out a laugh, keeping a secure hold on the grumbling fox. "Yeah, punch me, Knux! Let me see what ya got!"

The angle was awkward, and Knuckles knew he wasn't doing any real harm flailing as he was. There were chuckles all around, and he frowned. "You couldn't have worked out once in your life, Tails?" he muttered before yelling out. "Tails! Get over here and help me!"

Tails looked up from the bare knuckle he was studying, having taken off his left glove. He saw Knuckles' position and grinned. It was nice seeing someone else trapped by Sonic's noogie of death. "Actually, I'm just going to enjoy-"

"Tails, when I get back in my body, I'm coming after you first."

"Okay, okay!" Tails replaced the glove and strolled over to the duo. However, again, he forgot that he was missing his tails and instantly face planted on the ground in front of the couch. "Owwww…"

He cradled his throbbing nose with one hand and grabbed the edge of the sofa with the other. Tails tried to get up, but instead, he tore a good chunk of the cushion he had grasped. He blinked at it. "Oops…"

Amy giggled at the poor echidna. "You might not want to touch anything else, Tails. You'll probably tear your house apart!"

Sonic peered down at his little(?) brother before letting Knuckles go. "Yeah, Imma just give it up now before Tails pulls my arm off or somethin'."

"It isn't that unpleasant of an experience," Metal commented, taking all of this foolishness in stride.

Sonic rolled his eyes as Knuckles planned his revenge. "'Course it isn't because you can't fe-"

There was yet another bright light.

Sonic blinked through it and saw Shadow slump forward until he face-planted on the ground. Soft snores emitted out of his open mouth.

It...wasn't the first time that it happened, but still, what the heck?

Rouge furrowed her brow. "What in the world?"

Tails dropped the piece of cushion and faced the sleeping 'hog. He tilted his dread-locked head. "Um...was there another switch? Or did something else happen?"

Something appeared in the corner of everyone's eyes, and they turned to see a large hammer in Amy's grip. Though, that wasn't what held their attention. The slightly homicidal expression on her face did.

"If any of you say a word," Shadow began, his tone sharp and cutting, "this is going down your throat."

"...and I thought Amy couldn't look any more terrifying," Knuckles mumbled and held his hands up innocently when poisonous jades landed on him. "I wasn't making fun of you. Just commenting."

Shadow's glare didn't let up, and Tails had to step in. "Don't hurt him, please? You'll hurt my body and I have to eventually return to it, so…"

Shadow took a deep breath and eased up his grip on the handle of his convenient weapon. He didn't let it poof away though, simply laying it across his body for easy future access.

He clenched and unclenched his fists, wanting to get out of these damn pink pajamas, out of this damn body, out of this damn house, and get the sleep he-

Wait. He wasn't tired anymore. It didn't take energy he didn't have to keep his eyes open.

Shadow shifted his gaze to his sleeping body, coming to the conclusion that Amy was in control of it now. "My exhaustion stayed with my body," he said, changing the subject. "And she doesn't have the mental endurance I do."

Sonic rubbed the back of his neck. He would've teased Shadow about his situation, but there were rare times that he left the other alone in fear of his well-being. This was one of those times. "Wow Shads, how tired were you?"

Rouge propped her head up in her palm and snapped her fingers at Eggman when he reached up to scratch something. When he scowled and lowered his hand, she said, "When he has to resort to coffee, it's pretty bad."

"So you're not tired anymore?" Tails asked him.

The pink hedgie shook his head. "No."

Eggman's scowl morphed into a glower that looked out of place on the bat's face. "Lucky you, rodent. Not only are you free to do whatever you want-" He pointedly looked at an uncaring Rouge. "-you also get a perk from it."

"Hardly a perk." Shadow scrunched his nose up at his voice. It sounded naturally whiny and high-pitched. Everything Shadow wasn't. "Though, it's better than being a robot."

There was a general consensus around the room, and Sonic just now realized the predicament he was in.

Metal saw how nervous the speedster got and said, "I am the superior being, copy. You should be flattered to have the chance to-"

"Maybe we should start the show!" Sonic exclaimed, mind whirling. He really didn't want to become a tin can. "That's why the thing's doing this to us, yeah? We're going to slow?"

"Not so fast, hon-"

Everyone shuddered, even Eggman because that should never be uttered by his voice.

Shadow glared at Rouge. "What did I tell you before?"

She rolled her eyes. "Sorry, force of habit. But anyway Blue, it's not fair if you and the bot get to sit out on the craziness."

"That's the thing!" Sonic's smile was twitchy. "Someone has to stay level headed right?"

Shadow scoffed, sounding nearly like a squeaky toy. "Since when have you been level headed, Faker?"

"That's not the point!"

"Still true though," Knuckles commented, rubbing on the ear that had been abused earlier. "And even if we were going to spare you — we're not by any stretch of the imagination — Amy's still asleep. We can't play it."

Sonic turned to Amy, and yeah, she was still knocked out. Mental gears turned as he came up with a plan. He'd wake her up and then dash for the remote. Then he'd be safe...hopefully.

He stood up, careful not to step on Tails who had settled where he had fallen. "It'll be easy enough to wake her up! I'll just-"

Sonic saw white for the fourth stupid time, and he really hated magical beings and their sadistic streaks.

"I seriously hope the thing is having fun blinding us…" Knuckles grumbled as he recovered. He then — along with all of the others — glanced between the standing blue hedgie and the sitting robot. Knuckles' temporary blue eyes lingered on the bot. "Sonic?"

The mech's red opitcals focused on him and monotone words filled the air. "I hate this."

Tails peered up at him, seeing Sonic test his metallic fingers. "How does it feel in there?"

Sonic crossed his arms, inwardly wincing at the clang produced. "Terrible. My voice is all wonky, my senses feel weird, I don't have a freakin' mouth or skin, and I'm technically dead."

Rouge waved him off. "Don't be so melodramatic. You're not dead, Blue."

"Really? I can't breathe and don't have a heartbeat. I wouldn't exactly call that alive."

Knuckles snorted, somewhat amused. "Someone's grumpy."

Tails understood why Sonic was upset though. He had been fighting robots all of his life only to become one. It had to be jarring. "Don't be so down, Sonic! You won't be in his body forever!" At least, he assumed so.

"Yeah yeah…"

If Sonic ever came face-to-face with the thing, he might consider doing something unheroic.

Eggman was frowning as he took in Sonic's new appearance. Under normal circumstances, seeing his enemy like this would've meant that he had finally bested the rodent and robotimized him. But here, it was nothing but a slap in the face.

There was only so much humiliation he could take before breaking down and needing a bath. With bubbles.

"While all of you are focused on the Faker," Shadow began, his attention on the standing anthro who was clutching his chest. "I think Metal is being enlightened. Again."

Most of the others looked at Metal, but Rogue rose a brow at the pink hedgie. "Again?"

"Long story."

The blue hedgehog's eyes were wide as he felt his chest rise and fall with each breath, felt the steady heartbeat under his fingertips. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, getting used to it, as his brow creased. "It...It feels like this...to be alive?"

"Sure does." The robotic version of a huff escaped Sonic. "Enjoy it while you can."

Metal stood still for a couple more moments, his feeling of awe washing over him. "This is not...what I expected…"

Sonic got up because it sure didn't look like Metal was going to wake Amy. He would've frowned at how stiff and clunky he was if he had a mouth. "'Course it isn't." He walked over to the downed hedgie. "Bet you regret tryin' to take it from us all this time, huh?"

"I…" Metal made eye contact with Sonic, expression genuinely curious. "What does pain feel like?"

Sonic didn't answer immediately, still processing the question, so Knuckles took the initiative. He didn't have his usual strength, but he figured that this would be enough. The fox reached up and pinched the hedgehog hard in his side.

Metal loudly yelped before bringing a hand to his mouth, eyes wide.

Knuckles snickered at the reaction. "Punches are worse."

"Cuts are pretty bad too," Tails added.

Rouge nodded. "And burns."

"Being shot is rough," Shadow provided.

Sonic put a hand on his hip, the action not feeling as natural as it should've. "And y'know, I'd argue being slashed open or being the target of a red-hot laser is probably the worst."

Metal blinked at him before whirling on Eggman, who suddenly wished that he wasn't there. "You know what pain feels like, and yet you let me inflict that on others? I thought you were pathetic before, but now…"

Eggman held up his hands innocently, ignoring Rouge's warning glare. "You...You can't put the blame all on me! You were more than happy to-"

"Do you expect a child with no knowledge of mathematics to solve a quadratic equation?"

"I — No, but-"

"Exactly," Metal nearly spat. Eggman went silent at that, not believing that he'd been told off by his own creation and knowing that he couldn't say anything without potentially getting punched in the face. Then he'd have an angry Rouge to deal with.

When the doctor said no more, Metal returned to Knuckles' side.

The fox's and echidna's mouths were agape. Rouge was disappointed that she didn't have any popcorn because that was wild. Shadow wished that Metal had thrown a punch.

Sonic gave his bodysnatcher a thumbs up. "Didn't know you had it in you, Mets."

"Me neither…" Metal said absently, distracted by the feel of his head quills.

Eggman went to cross his arms — he was not pouting — and groaned when Rouge slapped them back down.

Sonic felt a little better because of what just happened, but not by much. They had to get the show on the road because maybe when the episode was over, they would change back.

He squatted down and reached out to put a hand on Amy's shoulder. Sonic hesitated at the sight of his metal fingers, but he kept going. "Ames!" he called as he shook. "Earth to Amy! Wake up!"

It took a couple tries, but black eyelids finally blinked open. "...Huh?" she mumbled out, and her voice was apparently loud enough for her to hear because her breath hitched. She hastily sat up, almost head butting Sonic the process. Amy grabbed her throat. "My...My voice! Why do I sound like I gargled sandpaper?!"

Shadow growled at her. "It's better than swallowing a damn dog toy."

Amy whirled her head in his direction, her body stiffening. "Oh...Oh my gosh! No no no! I got Shadow?" She was screeching now, voice cracking, and Knuckles and Rouge were getting a kick out of it.

"Calm down!" Shadow barked. His voice was not meant to be used like that.

"Calm down? Calm down?! I'm-" Amy gasped as she looked down at herself. Then she tried to cover as much of her body as she could, basically in a fetus position. "I'M NAKED!"

Knuckles and Rouge now were choking on their laughter.

Shadow contemplated going over there and shutting her up himself.

Eggman wanted earplugs.

Even though Tails felt bad for her, a couple chuckles slipped out as he explained, "Amy, you're not technically naked! It's okay!"

"NOTHING ABOUT THIS IS OKAY!" Amy whined, and it sounded more like a low rumble than anything. Shadow's hate steadily grew. Amy focused on an observing Metal. "Sonic! Get me a blanket, pretty please!"

Knuckles and Rouge were wheezing at this point.

Sonic wished that he could laugh. "Uh…" He rose a hand, gaining her attention. "Ames, I'm Sonic."

The black hedgehog's features morphed from shock to extreme pity so fast. It wasn't an expression he'd seen on that face ever. Sonic would pinch himself, but nope. He was made of metal now.

"Tails is right…" Amy was heavily breathing, but she stopped yelling and that was a good sign. "I need to calm down because you totally got it worse than I did!"

"Please stop talking," Shadow nearly begged.

"No! Keep going!" Knuckles was wiping away a tear.

Amy ignored them, instead asking, "Are you alright in there, Sonic?"

Sonic shrugged. "I've been a lot better."

"Oh…" Amy paused before returning to her earlier conversation topic. "Can you get me a blanket?"

"...You're not naked."

"SONIC!"

"I'm going! I'm going!"

Amy watched Sonic leave, her heart rate slowly decreasing. She was fine, everything was fine, it wasn't that bad. She had no clothes on, but she was getting that taken care of.

She exhaled deeply, hating her voice. It was filled with too much testosterone. Amy then looked past a still giggling Rouge and a miserable Eggman to focus on Shadow with his arms folded over his chest. She frowned, glancing at the tense bat before saying, "Shadow, put your hands at your sides like Eggman has his!"

Shadow saw where she was going with this, and he narrowed his eyes. "No."

Sonic walked back into the living room with a blue blanket. He tossed it over to Amy, who wrapped herself in it while glaring. "No? What do you mean, no? Respect my body! I'm covering you up, so you shouldn't be touching me!"

"I don't care that you have a blanket."

Amy was growing frustrated. "But you're a boy, and I don't want you to touch-"

"You have nothing to touch, so stop whining."

Rouge covered her mouth in surprise. Oh no he didn't…

Amy, along with the rest of the room, was shocked silent.

Until snickers escaped Metal's mouth. Those soon grew into chuckles that bloomed into unabashed laughter. "W-What-" He interrupted himself with more laughs. "-Why am I-?" He tried to muffle it with his hands, but it did nothing.

Tails couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Is...is he…?"

"Laughing? Yeah." Knuckles finished for him. "At the completely wrong time." If it hadn't been for the enraged black hedgehog with a cape marching in their direction, it would've been the perfect time to laugh.

Amy paused in front of the the blue Mobian, blazing scarlets narrowed dangerously. She stomped once. "That was not funny!"

Metal fought to control himself, but it was hard. This was a completely new experience and he didn't know how to handle it. "It was...a bit humorous."

Sonic flinched at the punch that followed, and he was glad that he wasn't in his body at the moment.

"Pain…" Metal murmured as he rubbed his severely throbbing cheek. "Punches causing pain is an accurate statement…"

Amy grinned at her clenched fist, loving her newly acquired strength. She then approached an unfazed Shadow. Both of their stares were heated, venom present in their gazes.

"Take it back," Amy ordered, taking advantage of her situation and adding a growl to her words.

"You're forgetting who you're talking to, Rose." Shadow's voice was calm, the bubbly girl's voice twisted to be equivalent of a lit fuse.

"I know exactly who I'm talking to! That's why we're having his conversation!"

Shadow didn't say anything, waiting for her to make a move so he could.

Unfortunately, Sonic had to get involved. "Whoa, guys!" The robot shuffled over, putting a hand on Amy's chest and gently pushing her back. "Let's just calm down a bit, yeah?"

Amy pointed at the pink hedgie. "He started it! He insulted me, and-"

Sonic steered her away, guiding her to the empty seat by Knuckles. "It's okay, Amy! He wasn't serious."

"Shadow isn't ever not serious! Do you agree with him, Sonic?"

"Uh...this is an awkward conver-"

"Sonic the hedgehog! Do you think that I-"

"Shadow!" Sonic pushed her to sit on the couch a little rougher than necessary. "It wouldn't hurt to apologize, right?"

Shadow looked nowhere close to giving in. "It would be excruciating."

Rouge had finally recovered from what was said. "It was kinda rude, Shadow."

"I was provoked."

Amy leaned forward quick as lightning. "Provoked?!"

Knuckles cringed as he rubbed his arm. "I know you're mad and all, but keep your spit to yourself, Amy."

Amy blinked, anger put on hold. "Ewwww! I'm sorry Knuckles! I didn't mean to!"

"On that thought…" Sonic grabbed the remote abandoned by Amy's leg and sat down on the floor beside Tails, his back against the couch. He glanced up at the television — hoping that his episode would go by fast — and pressed play.

It was nighttime on the beach, and the hero crew was lounging around a warm campfire.

Sonic envied his twin. He would've been fine switching with anyone else! But nope. The thing hated him.

"What is this one about?" Tails asked, keeping his hands close to himself so he wouldn't accidentally break something else. "Did anyone catch the title?"

There were head shakes all around.

Knuckles made use of his tails: one being a makeshift blanket and the other a soft pillow. "My twin's in it, so it can't be good."

Rouge scoffed. "Come on, Red, he may be a little slower, but you have to admit that he's adorable-"

"Rouge."

"Sorry."

"Words like that are cut from you vocabulary from now on."

"But Knuckie-" Rouge stopped herself at the mortified looks she received. "It's hard, okay?"

Eggman was going to be sick.

Tails was the only one staring up at the stars, and Amy noticed. "Tails? What are you doing?"

The kit gestured up at the cloudless sky. "Just enjoying this beautiful meteor shower."

Everyone looked up to see multicolored meteorites fly overhead.

Knuckles, who was eating marshmallows off a stick, pointed at one of the hurdling rocks. "That one's flying beautifully toward us!"

Knuckles shook his head in disappointment. "And so it begins…"

Rouge rolled her eyes. "What he said wasn't even that bad."

"I beg to differ."

Amy, bundled up in her blanket, tapped her chin through the fabric. "I wonder how they would react if they switched bodies like we did?" She felt really bad for her other self if that ever happened and hoped she lucked up and got Sonic or something. At least he respects women!

"My twin would be dumb and I really don't like the thought of that…" Tails murmured.

"If the best character becomes like that, then I would lose faith in that whole universe," Knuckles grumbled.

A purple meteor sailed over them before crashing in the far distance with a violet glow. All of the gang's eyes were glued to the event.

Tails stood up, awed. "This could be a major find!" He refocused on his friends. "We need to approach it cautiously and with great care so-"

Sonic was already up on his feet. "Race ya!" Then he blasted off in the direction of the crater. Knuckles, Amy, and Sticks soon followed after him.

Tails heavily sighed before holding out a hand, trailing behind. "Wait for me!"

Sonic looked forlornly at the screen. He missed his legs.

"Wait…" Amy pursed her lips, cuddling more into her blanket. "That meteor looked really weird! What if...What if they do switch bodies in this one? That's probably why we did it!"

Knuckles frowned. "At this point, I wouldn't be surprised." If Sticks got stuck in his double's body, he was going to walk out of the room.

Tails felt sorry for his left behind twin, but Amy's words got him thinking. "But that wouldn't make sense though… Meteors don't have the power to do that!"

Rouge recalled a particular golf ball being frozen mid-air last episode and brought up, "Apparently the luck balance of the universe exists there, h...Tails." She caught herself. "Body-switching meteors are a step down in my opinion."

"I guess you're right…" Tails admitted, though his scientific mind wanted to reject all of this.

Then again, he was sitting in Knuckles' body. Logic had been thrown out of the window.

Sonic was the first to reach the massive pit, peering over the edge of it. The purple glowing rock was sitting pretty in the hole.

Shadow rose a brow. "It looks similar to a Chaos emerald."

"But it can't be one because there were dozens of them in the sky!" Sonic tilted his head. "Speaking of them though, how come we haven't seen one yet?"

"Or the Master Emerald," Knuckles huffed, being reminded that his double was neglecting his duties.

"There are fifty-two episodes or more, have you forgotten?" Metal leaned back into the cushion and appreciated how soft the fabric felt. "They have plenty of time to show up later."

Amy glanced over and saw the slight smile on Metal's face. She didn't know how she felt about a robot stepping in Sonic's shoes — literally — and well, she kinda regretted punching her boyfriend in the face. Indirectly, but she did it nonetheless. That bruise was unsightly.

But Metal apparently didn't care.

"Which body is better, Metal?" she had to ask. "Yours or Sonics?"

"I have yet to make judgement."

Sonic peered over his shoulder at the other. "Really, Metal? Don't think your tin can of a body is superior anymore?"

Metal scoffed. "Far from that. I just have not consumed anything yet. In fact…" He looked over in the direction of the kitchen before standing up and leaving the living room. There was rattling coming from the kitchen and a pause before Metal reappeared, holding a bitten cookie. He looked like his life had been changed twenty times over. "Food is amazing."

Amy giggled, and Shadow inwardly groaned at that terrible sound. "Then you better take advantage of it while you can!"

Metal nodded at her. "You are correct." He disappeared once more for a moment and came back with the pack of cookies, a bag of chips, and a couple sodas.

"That's a little overkill, don't you think?" Rouge gave her opinion, counting the amount of calories she saw.

Metal didn't dignify that with an answer as he plopped down, ripping open the chip bag. Knuckles reached over to get a handful, but the hedgehog slapped him away. "Hey!" Knuckles barked. "You got those for us!"

"Exactly. I acquired these." Metal threw some chips into his mouth and nearly melted at the burst of flavor. He cracked open the soda, took a gulp, and loudly burped. He surprised himself more than anyone else. A light blush camped on his cheeks. "That...was an accident."

Knuckles rolled his eyes, and Tails chuckled. "At least you apologized!" the latter placated. "Sonic usually skips that step!"

Sonic watched his body in silence. He didn't mind Metal eating the snacks, but if he touched his hot dogs, then Sonic was going on attack mode.

The rest of his friends soon caught up, and he turned to them. "Ha, first!"

"Think again, Sonic!"

The azure speedster whirled back around to see the doctor in his hovercraft. "Eggman?!"

"That's right!" he responded haughtily. "And as the intrepid explorer who first discovered this regal rock, I hereby call dibs!"

"It's one thing that he shows up in this blasted episode…" Eggman started, a headache already growing. Turned out he wasn't immune to them in this body. "But he shows up revealing that he follows the idiot rules of dibs?" He reached his fingers up to rub his temples.

"Hands down!"

"Can I not de-stress, woman?!"

"No!"

Metal chuckled at them, enjoying the doctor's torment very much. He sipped his soda more slowly. "The other doctor is an idiot, so he would resort to those childish and fabricated rules."

Tails' lips twitched downwards. "Dibs isn't that bad of a system though…"

"You are a child, kit."

"What?" Sonic called in disbelief. "You can't call dibs."

Eggman huffed. "Oh? So now you don't respect dibs? What's next? You're gonna allow cutsies? Flout the five second rule? Step on a crack without any regard for your mother's spinal column?"

Shadow wondered of the other human had reverted to the mindset of a toddler.

Knuckles was thinking the same thing. "This man has issues. Yeah, no cutting and the five second rule is common knowledge, but stepping on a crack? And why is he so serious about it?"

"Because I honestly believe that he forgets how old he is," Sonic said. From the beginning to the end of his little speech, the man had jumped like twenty years.

Knuckles frowned at the blue hedgehog, disappointed. "Not cool, Sonic."

Knuckles pretended that the other him hadn't said anything.

"Of course I respect dibs!" Sonic heatedly defended himself. "You can only call dibs if you're touching the thing you desire to dib!"

Tails brows furrowed. "Is that a rule? I don't think that's a rule…"

Eggman held up an innocent hand, chuckling. "Oh...in that case…" He then quickly lowered his vehicle into the crater, getting down to the bottom. He stepped out and ran for the meteor.

Sonic, seeing this, raced into the hole. He dropped to the ground and bounced in the direction of the rock, hand outstretched.

They both touched the meteor, shouting out, "Dibs!"

"So it's only Blue and the doctor who switched?" Rouge observed, because the others weren't anywhere near the meteor when it went off.

"If only…" Sonic and Eggman muttered at the same time.

The screen glowed purple before cutting to black. Then, it was a first person view of someone blinking their eyes open.

"Ugh…" It was Sonic's voice as a thought. The eyes looked around, revealing the inside of the base. "What am I doing in Eggman's lair?" Sonic faced forward, gasping at a mirror that showed Eggman. "Eggman!"

Sonic launched himself at the mirror to attack the human, but he only bounced right off, landing on the floor. He rubbed his head as he sat up. "What the…" Then he opened his mouth, asking with the doctor's voice, "What am I doing in Eggman's body?"

"Trust me," Sonic spoke to the screen. "It could be worse. Way worse."

Rouge shook her head. "Worse, maybe, but not way worse. At least you don't feel like a sack of potatoes and hot." She turned towards Eggman. "I'm basically sweating over here?!"

Metal snorted, swallowing a cookie. Tails stole one while he wasn't looking. "Blubber is a good insulator."

Eggman was sad that Metal wasn't still a robot; he would've ripped his head off for that one.

The doors to a connecting hallway promptly slid open, Orbot and Cubot floating through. "Dr. Eggman!" the former exclaimed. "You're awake!"

"We had to drag you back home!" Cubot said. "It was spring break all over again!"

Multiple pictures of Eggman playing volleyball, singing karaoke, building a sandcastle, and sleeping on the beach with a Sonic shaped sunburn on his head were shown.

"Right, because all evil scientists have a spring break," Knuckles said sarcastically.

"We can hardly call him evil or even a scientist for that matter…" Eggman groused. "He's nothing but a disappointment, and Metal, don't you dare say anything."

Metal snickered around the chips in his mouth.

Sonic couldn't help but to jump in. "What did you think he was gonna say, Eggy? Wanna share with us?"

"You know what he was going to say, cactus!"

"Maybe...but I want to hear it from you!"

And they call me sadistic… Eggman thought, keeping his mouth wisely closed.

Knuckles nearly jumped out of his skin when something hit his shoulder. He turned his head slightly to see that it was Amy resting against him, clearly asleep. He guessed that the initial surprise of all this wore off. "And...she's out again." He pushed her off of him — with more effort than it should've been — and Amy was now against the arm of the couch.

"What?" Tails whirled around. "Really?"

"I'm surprised that she had lasted that long," Shadow grunted, tapping a finger against the hammer in his lap.

"Well, somebody wake her up!" Rouge helpfully suggested. "I don't want to be in this body any longer than I have to."

"But even if we wake her up, she's just going to keep going back to sleep!" Sonic wracked his brain for the solution for this problem, if he could even call it that. It took a less than a second. "Sugar is an energy source. Since we don't have any caffeine, then we gotta get sugar in her at least until this episode is over."

Tails blinked at him before smiling. "That should work! Good job, Sonic! Those databases are helpful, aren't they?"

"I guess…" Sonic was reluctant to give his new body any compliments. He then glanced at the box of cookies in the former robot's lap. He held out a hand. "Metal, give me the cookies." Metal blinked at him before cradling his food closer to himself. Sonic would've rolled his eyes. "I'm not askin' for all of it, just-"

"There is more than enough food for her in the kitchen."

Sonic simply stared before leaning over Tails, snatching the box and the untouched soda too while he was at it. Metal made a move to reclaim them, and Sonic threatened, "If you don't want confetti shot up your nose, you better stop."

Metal smartly went back to his chips.

Sonic inwardly smirked before taking a sole cookie and holding it under Amy's nose. Barely ten seconds passed before she started to rouse. "Is that…" She opened her eyes and focused on the dessert. "It is!" She sat up, took the cookie, and languidly nibbled at it. Amy rubbed her eyes. "Sorry I keep falling asleep…"

Sonic set the box on her lap. "Just keep eatin' those and drink this." He handed over the soda. "Hopefully it'll keep you awake until we can get our bodies back."

She sleepily nodded. "That's a good idea! Thanks!"

Metal missed the cookies already.

Sonic was on his feet at this point. "I'm not Eggman! I'm Sonic!"

Orbot whispered to his companion. "I think he's pretending to be Sonic again…"

Cubot looked a bit disturbed. "Well I'm not gonna be Amy this time!"

Eggman floundered for a bit before forcing out, "There are too many things wrong with what I just heard."

"You can…say that again." Rouge wanted to forget those last ten seconds. "So...that doctor role plays as Sonic? And forces one of them to be Amy?"

Knuckles refused to let that image into his head. "You think that's bad? He also believes that those two are dating."

Surprise etched into Rouge's features until complete and utter disgust took over.

"That's...That's just creepy!" Tails shuddered.

"Yeah, I agree with the dating stuff because that's a dream come true-" If Amy could read Shadow's thoughts, she'd be relieved that there wasn't any duct tape around. Or stitches. "-but just what in the world?" She crunched on a cookie. "What does he do to them, and what does he make them do?"

"...Let's forget about all of that and move on," Sonic suggested, completely rattled.

There was a scene change, the screen showing Sonic's shack.

Amy and Eggman, who was in Sonic's body, were inside. The pinkette was making sure the other was comfortable. "Sonic, you rest here."

"Aw!" Amy cooed after yawning. She wasn't feeling the sugar yet, and sleep was putting up a good fight. She worked on her soda. "She's making sure he's alright! That's so adorable! Bf and gf goals!"

Rouge grinned, disregarding the dark aura radiating off Shadow. "You know, I thought that I'd see Sonic give up chili dogs before hearing Shadow say any of that."

"I didn't say it." Shadow's teeth didn't separate at all, his voice a hiss.

"Technically, you did."

"And you're not going to get me to stop!" Amy sent a pointed look Shadow's way. "You won't respect me, and I won't respect you!" She turned her nose up, taking a confident bite of another cookie.

"Amy, I know that you're tryin' to get at Shadow and all…" Sonic glanced at her. "But uh, it does sound really weird comin' from your mouth."

"Huh?" Amy looked down at him. "But I'm still me, though! It doesn't matter how I sound! You're the greatest person ever and I want you to like me back and…" She blinked before stopping herself, hearing what she was saying, how it was said. "Actually nevermind that does sound weird…"

"You think?" Sonic came to a conclusion right then and there. "Yeah, Ames we're gonna treat you like Rouge. There are some things that you just can't say. Like that for example."

Amy huffed, but agreed. "Fine...but can I say stuff like adorable and things like that?"

"Yes," Knuckles and Sonic answered at the same time. They shared an amused look. Rouge nodded in agreement, happy that she wasn't the only one put on restraint.

"It is entertaining," Metal added, still enjoying his snacks.

"It's the only way I'll get any enjoyment out of this," Eggman sighed out.

Shadow growled, despising his own smug face. "I hate all of you."

Tails cocked his head. "But I didn't do anything!"

"You were thinking it."

Tails couldn't exactly argue that without lying.

Eggman's grin was too wide and his eyes were shifty. "Yes, Amy dear! I won't move, for I am Sonic and this is my humble shack!"

The only reason Eggman wasn't throwing up right now was that Rouge would have his head for ruining her jumpsuit.

Amy flinched as if she was slapped. "Eggman called her dear? Okay yeah, that's gross."

Sonic hated that this episode existed. "Does he...really think that's how my twin acts…?"

Knuckles smirked at him. "Maybe it is. We don't see every second of their lives."

"Oh no Knuckles stop."

Amy began to walk out, but she paused in her step to sent Eggman a confused look before strolling along.

"Okay, she's even confused by it, so that's a good sign!" Sonic pointed out in relief.

Knuckles was upset that he couldn't milk that for longer.

The blue hedgehog sat up in his hammock, smirking. He hopped out of it. "Alright, don't freak out. Play it cool. You're Sonic now…" He proceeded to laugh evilly.

"That's not playing it cool." Tails would've laughed if he wasn't the the slightest bit worried that Eggman controlling Sonic's body could end up pretty bad.

The sound of evil laughter coming from Sonic was utterly ridiculous, but there was something higher on Rouge's priority list she wanted to address. "I don't want to admit this, but this probably is the best chance he has at winning. Especially if Shadow is nowhere to be found."

"Improbable." Metal finished off his soda and managed to stifle the burp this time. "That doctor is too incompetent to allow any plan to end in his favor."

Rouge temporarily had forgot about that. "Yeah, you're right, hon." Metal, of all people, gave her the look and she harshly exhaled. She would never take her own voice for granted again.

"Maybe…" Tails chewed his bottom lip. He mentally went through the hero crew. Sticks had no chance, Tails didn't either without some electronic help, Amy...might be able to hurt him but not stop him, and Knuckles… "Maybe Knuckles will be enough to stop him?"

Knuckles barked out a cynical laugh. "That's a funny joke, Tails. Me? I could take him on. But him? He might trip on a rock and knock himself out before Eggman could touch him."

Tails frowned worriedly. "So, we're just relying on Eggman messing up horribly?"

"You're saying it like there isn't a chance of that happening." Mirth was present in the fox's tone.

"I'd be more shocked if he actually won." Eggman's confidence in his twin was in the negatives at this point. Basically nonexistent.

Tails pursed his lips before turning to Sonic. "What do you think, Sonic?"

"They're pretty much screwed."

"But-"

Sonic went through the options. "Unless Shadow and non-toaster Metal came out of nowhere to fought him at the same time — they couldn't do it alone — then yeah, their only hope is Eggman twisting an ankle or something."

"Careful, Faker." Shadow patted his weapon. "Your limbs can easily come off now."

Metal weakly glared, munching on chips. He was thankful that he had been sent grocery shopping. "I had almost taken you out on multiple occasions, copy."

"Keyword: almost. And Shads, you don't wanna make it mad, do you?"

"You're right. I'll just wait until you can feel again to hit you."

Sonic realized that he had made a tiny mistake.

Amy stepped back into the doorway. "Did you say something?"

"No!" Eggman answered too quickly, nearly fumbling over his words. "I was just thinking about something funny that red imbecile we both know said! Heh…"

Amy blinked. "You mean...Knuckles?"

Eggman nodded. "Yes, Nuffles! That's the guy!"

Knuces snorted. That was probably the funniest thing this show had offered so far.

The pinkette studied him for a second before leaving him again, subtly shaking her head.

"How does she not know by now?!" Amy exclaimed, seriously confused. "Sonic doesn't talk like that, and he wouldn't forget Knuckles' name!"

Knuckles shrugged. "More proof that Tails and Sonic are the best characters."

Amy pouted, the action pulling some muscles in her face. What? Had Shadow never pouted before? ...She actually could believe that. "Well, if they all get in trouble, it's her fault!"

When she was gone, Eggman rubbed his hands together with an excited smirk. "This is delicious. With my genius mind and Sonic's speed, I'll finally be able to destroy these pesky rodents once and for all!" Eggman glanced down at his feet. "Time for a test drive…"

He stepped in place for a moment. He then sped off and instantly crashed into the wall, legs in the air. "Yeah, this might take some getting used to…"

"Did Eggy really think he'd be able to handle going like a thousand times his own speed after five minutes?" Sonic was still working on his speed. He always had to work to get faster so he could better himself...and leave Shadow in his dust. "Yeah, I think they're safe."

Tails glanced down at his red body. "I can barely walk and Knuckles isn't even built for running!" He then focused on the former echidna. "Can you keep balanced if you get up?"

"I going to go ahead and say no."

"Don't you want to-"

"And land on my butt? No thanks."

Back at the crater, Tails was kneeling by the meteor with a device and a chart in his hands.

"These numbers are off the chart…" he uttered, examining the screen. He threw the clipboard he had over his shoulder. "Fortunately, I have a bigger chart."

Amy giggled to himself because while that was unexpected, it was cute.

Knuckles thought that was kinda stupid, but it was a good stupid and he allowed it.

He bent down, picked up a wider chart than before, and started writing on it. "Now let's find out your purpley secrets…"

Tails, seeing this, could already determine how this was ending. "Looks like I'm going to eventually figure it out!"

"And swoop in to save the day like the circus episode!" Sonic added, understanding where his bro was coming from.

Rouge was going to ask about the 'circus episode', but she wasn't entirely sure if she wanted to know.

In the evil base, Sonic was still trying to convince the helper bots. "I'm tellin' you, I'm Sonic! Eggman switched brains with me, I mean, I switched bodies with Eggman!"

Metal swallowed a mouthful of chips and wondered exactly why these bags were only halfway filled when opened. His was nearly empty now. "He might as well be speaking to a brick wall. He would find better assistance in the other doctor."

Cubot tilted his head. "Uh, hang on. Did you switch brains, or did you switch bodies?"

"Both!"

"Well, then, nothing's changed," Orbot concluded.

"Like I said. They need to be destroyed."

"Maybe Sonic will actually do that this episode?" Tails pointed out.

Eggman scoffed. "As much as I would enjoy that, I doubt it."

Sonic glared. "Listen, gearbrain-"

Cubot nodded at Orbot. "Definitely Eggman."

"Look," Sonic started, exasperated. "I'm not Eggman! I'll prove it!" Sonic tried to utilize his speed, but Eggman's body wasn't having it. After a couple of seconds of 'running', Sonic was wheezing. "Oh boy...I can't...breathe! What is the awful feeling...in my lungs?"

Eggman felt amused eyes on him, and he was quick to defend himself. "I'm not that unhealthy! He barely ran before looking like he's about to collapse!"

"Uh huh," Sonic's monotonous voice still managed to sound disbelieving. "Rouge, do you wanna test that out?"

"And risk collapsed a lung? I'm good, Blue."

Orbot softly clapped. "Good show, sir."

Cubot gave a thumbs up. "Real impressive stuff, boss…"

Sonic was straining to regain his breath. "Need to...find Tails...he'll know what to do…!"

"Yeah, Tails is your best bet at this point." Knuckles sneakily took a cookie out of Amy's box when she took a sip of soda. "Because the smartest one of the other three couldn't even tell anything was off."

In Sonic's shack again, Eggman was rolling all around the walls and the ceiling, gotten the hang of his new body.

That surprised Sonic a bit. "Already?"

"Uh oh…" Tails chewed the inside of his cheek. "I didn't know that the fight would be this early!"

Eggman landed on the floor confidently. "Now that I've finally gotten a hang of this athletically superior but far less handsome body, I can destroy those do-gooders for good!" He laughed maniacally.

Amy almost choked on her snack. She felt the sugar now, her drowsiness being held at bay. "Less handsome?! I beg to differ! Sonic's perfection on legs!"

"Amy…"

"...Oh yeah, the rules! I forgot!"

Shadow was wrong before. Switching with Amy was worse than potentially switching with Metal. The robot would just be stuffing himself with food, not making Shadow wish that he was both blind and deaf.

Until Amy's distant voice gained his attention. "Sonic, come out! I made milkshakes for everyone!"

Eggman perked up. "Ooo...milkshakes! Okay, milkshakes first, then destroy arch enemies."

Tails could honestly say that he didn't expect that. "Uh...or maybe the fight's not starting now…?"

"It probablyisn't ever going to start." Knuckles knew that the other doctor was something else, but prioritizing milkshakes over finally getting a win over his long-time enemies? Seriously? "Because he's going to have so much 'fun' playing Sonic until Tails comes in and shuts him down."

The scene switched again to Sonic poorly piloting the hovercraft, the helper bots riding with him. "I really appreciate you guys lending me the Egg-mobile. I have no idea how Eggman gets around in this...floatation device he calls a body!"

When those words sink in, Orbot turned to Cubot. "Did he just say that he appreciates us?"

"I'm thinking that this might not be Eggman after all…" the yellow one speculated. "Could someone else be in his body? If so...who?"

If Sonic would've heard that, those bots would've been sinking to the bottom of the ocean by now.

Metal pictured them as red and yellow toasters, a grin growing on his muzzle as a result.

Eggman and Knuckles were enjoying themselves playing a fighting video game.

Eggman needed to punch his twin in his face for two reasons: so the other could feel his intense anger, and so he could say that he technically got to punch a Sonic in the face.

"He doesn't care that much about beating them, does he?"

Rouge shook her head at Tails' question. "Not at all. At least ours has some kind of drive."

"Thank you!" Eggman shouted in relief. "I've telling you that we're not the same at all!"

Metal scoffed. "You are pushing it, doctor."

When the doctor's game character eventually pinned the echidna's, Eggman cheered. "Oh yeah! Score one for Dr. Egg-" He hastily mended his words. "I mean uh, Sonic!" He smiled nervously at the other.

Knuckles wasn't happy. "Hey, no need to rub it in, dude."

The fact that the other Knuckles was oblivious as well didn't surprise a single person.

Eggman blinked. "Of course, Sonic's a good sport! I don't know what came over me, Nuggets!"

The first time was funny, this time was just obnoxious. "It is that hard to remember his name?" Knuckles groused. "Just look at his hands for crying out loud!"

Knuckles silently crossed his arms and pointedly looked away.

Eggman grinned at him before distancing himself from the echidna a bit. He pulled out a scheduler. "Let's see…badminton with Sticks at four-thirty, then a hike with the gang - can't miss that - another video game sesh with Nibbles at seven, then I'll destroy everyone at seven-fifteen!-

"He has a whole day planned out!" Amy sloshed the remains of soda around in its can. "I don't understand-"

"There's nothin' to understand, Ames."

-Wait, no…Amy and I are going to see that chick flick at nine! Guess I'll have to destroy them tomorrow…"

Amy narrowed her eyes. She didn't know how to feel about that date — because it was obviously a date — because while her twin willingly accepted it, it was Eggman. That fact alone made it wrong on so many levels.

There was then a loud crash coming from outside.

Eggman whipped his head in that direction. "What was that?"

The crash had been caused by Sonic slamming right into a tree. The hovercraft was smoking. He sheepishly snickered. "Sorry about the rough landing…"

Eggman ran out of the shack, shocked. "My baby!"

Sticks, who let out a war cry, got in a fighting stance along with Knuckles and Amy.

"...And no one heard that?"

"We've dealt with selective deafness before, lil bro."

"Yeah Sonic, but in Dave's episode, they were whispering! Eggman just screamed-"

"They just got a bad case, is all."

Sonic held his arms out in as a peaceful gesture. "Guys, it's me! Sonic!"

Knuckles barked out a laugh. "Nice try, Eggman!" He then rethought his words. "Wait, no, that was a terrible try."

"I don't know if it's just me," Rouge gestured to herself, "But I would've at least looked into that outrageous claim especially if I've noticed Blue acting weird."

"That's the thing, though." Shadow grunted. "They haven't noticed anything wrong."

Sonic approached him, nearly pleading. "But I'm not Eggman! I'm Sonic!"

Eggman put a hand on his hip, addressing the rest of the heroes. "Don't listen to him! I'm Sonic! Look how blue I am!" He smirked. "It must be one of his ingenious plans we all admire him for, huh friends?"

The trio looked at each other before bursting out in laughter.

"In-Ingenious plans!" Amy couldn't control her mirth. "Good one, Sonic!"

Eggman was thrown aback, clearly not expecting that reaction.

"How did he not expect that?" Eggman gestured wildly at the screen. "They are the same annoyances who have been taunting and mocking you for years. And it wasn't an act!"

"I almost feel sorry-"

"Don't." Knuckles interrupted Tails. "He deserves it."

"Yeah…" He quickly recovered, grinning. "We're making fun of Eggman because we're secretly jealous of him, right? I mean, the brains, the panash, the mustache...He's the total package!"

"If by package he means a can full of hot garbage, then yeah, he's the total package," Knuckles said, absently playing with the fur on one of his tails.

Metal glanced at him, scavenging crumbs at this point. "That is an interesting metaphor." He refocused on the screen. "It is perfect."

"I try."

Orbot and Cubot joined in with the laughter this time.

"Hilarious!" Sticks managed to choke out.

Sonic took another chance. "Listen, Eggman and I switched bodies somehow. He's me, and I'm him!"

"You're just repeating the same thing over and over again, other me! Tell them that you know about something like how the Gogobas trapped you, or heck, even Buster!"

"Gogobas?" Rouge threw her question at Sonic, not having heard that word before. "What are they?"

The robot shook his head at the frustrating memory. "More like who. They're a group of villagers who use guilt to kidnap people and to break into someone else's home." Rouge looked more confused than when she first asked the question. Sonic nodded. "Yep. No lies there."

Rouge slowly blinked. "That dimension is growing more interesting by the minute…" Not too interesting that she would stay any longer than she had to. Absolutely not. She was out as soon as she got her body back.

"Interesting is not the word I'd use," Eggman mumbled, and for once, Shadow could agree with him.

Knuckles laughed even harder, and Eggman secretly pulled out a pie from somewhere before throwing it at his own face.

"Ow!" Eggman cried out, staggering back a bit. He pointed at the human. "Eggman threw a pie at me!"

"Huh?" Sonic shook his head. "No I didn't!"

Eggman clenched a fist. "Let's send this miscreant packing!"

All of the crew except Eggman charged a panicking Sonic.

Tails gaped. "I...have no words…"

Knuckles huffed. "How about 'let's get your twin here as soon as possible'."

Sonic hastily ducked a boomerang Sticks threw at him only for it to come back and trip him up when he tried to run.

Amy ran up and hit Sonic right on the head with her hammer. Disoriented, Sonic crawled backwards until he ran into Knuckles' legs. The echidna scowled down at him, cracking his namesakes.

Amy puffed out her cheeks, wanting to jump in and defend the hedgehog-turned-human. "He doesn't deserve any of that! 'Eggman' hadn't even done anything to them this episode yet!"

"That's true!" Tails recalled the second episode and shivered uncomfortably. That onsie would haunt him in his nightmares. "With the sleepover episode, the other Amy was all about proving Eggman was a 'good guy', and she even helped him out with a lair make-over! Now she wants to brutally attack him after just showing his face?"

They were always dogging the other Knuckles, but Rouge wondered if the other Amy was alright in the head.

Amy sighed. "I'd love to teach her a common sense lesson with my hammer! Just once!"

Orbot, who was observing this trainwreck, faced his partner. "Perhaps it's time to bid our foes adieu."

"No time!" Cubot argued. "We gotta get outta here!"

He started up the hovercraft as Orbot hopped into it. They flew after Sonic, who was trying to get away from Knuckles.

"No!" Sonic frantically looked over his shoulder at the echidna. "I'm Sonic! You gotta believe me!" The vehicle picked Sonic up with some kind of attraction ray, causing Knuckles to miss his tackle. They flew off back to the base.

Knuckles knew it was pointless to question the other doctor, but he just couldn't help it. "Eggman didn't even attack Sonic! What's the point of keeping the act up if he doesn't do anything?"

"The only thing he does is hang out with the heroes." Sonic produced a scoff. "I wouldn't be surprised that he was jealous of my double. I mean, anyone would be lonely without any friends. Aren't I right, Egghead?"

"Rodent, I hope you realize that one day you will wake up with your world falling apart all around you. One day, I will rule and you will be worth the same as the dirt under my feet. One day-"

"You will wake up and realize that it was all an idiotic dream."

Sonic had to admit that he was proud of Metal for that one. Not caring about his current out-of-body experience for a second, he leaned over a bit and held up a hand; Metal clapped it without hesitation.

Eggman held his head in his hands.

Rouge let him wallow in his sorrows this time.

"With my body at his disposal, Eggman's just too powerful!" Sonic admitted, now inside the base. "How can I take on the fastest hedgehog on the world…" He pointed to himself. "Like this?"

"Ahem." Cubot gained his attention before gesturing at the opening door. A horde of robots marched through of different shapes and sizes.

Sonic smirked. "Oh yeah."

"Huh…" Tails leaned forward a tad, interested in what's to come. "I wonder how this is going to work out?" Sonic wasn't going to outright attack his friends, so what was he going to do with with robots? Single Eggman out?

"The better question is where in the heck is your twin." Knuckles crossed his arms. "He's been at that meteor the whole time!"

"Running tests is an extensive process, Knuckles!"

Back with the crew, Eggman grinned. "Did you see the look on his face when he ran off?"

"He looked ridiculous!" Knuckles sloshed around the drink in his hand. "Especially with that stupid mustache."

Eggman's eyes narrowed. "Alright, Noodles. That's enough."

Metal, tilting his head back to pour the last bits of chips into his mouth, nearly choked as a chuckle escaped his throat.

Knuckles frowned at him. "Stop. It wasn't funny."

Sonic looked back at the former bot. "Metal, I thought that you stopped trying to kill me."

"Do not blame me. The doctor called the echidna Noodles."

Sticks suddenly stiffened, her eyes darting back and forth. "Whoa...did you guys feel that?"

Amy looked at her before paying attention to her cup beside her. There were miniature waves in the juice. The vibrations grew more violent, the anthros not questioning it now.

They glanced in the direction they think it's coming from only to see the Mega robot easily pushing down trees as it raced towards them.

The other smaller bots soon joined the massive one on the beach, posing a threat.

Sonic was above in the hovercraft. He ordered, "Remember, warning shots only! I don't want anyone hurt, got it?"

Shadow rolled his eyes. "Warning shots or not, no one would get hurt."

Metal eyed the cookie box in Amy's lap. He reached over and snatched a handful, getting a couple crumbs on Knuckles and ignoring his glare. "Accurate," he responded to Shadow's statement, thinking about how these processed foods were so pleasing as he bit into his stolen goods.

"You can take them back, you know!" Amy patted her stomach as he held out the box. "I've gotten my fill, and I don't feel so sleepy anymore!"

Metal eagerly took them. "I apologize for a fourth of the negative comments I have ever said about you."

Amy furrowed her brow. "Uh...thanks?"

None of the robots moved.

Sonic furrowed his brow. "Well, what are you waiting for?"

Orbot met his gaze. "We're programmed only to obey orders after being threatened."

Sonic sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Eggman could sympathize. He just wished that he could go one episode without wanting to strangle his twin. He had a feeling that it wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

"Alright then…" He rose his voice. "Nobody gets hurt, or somebody's gonna get hurt!"

"Yes sir!" Orbot and Cubot said in unison before motioning for the other robots to attack.

"Wow."

"If it works, it works, Knux."

Amy was quick to destroy the first bot that approached her, her hammer smashing the metal.

Eggman flinched. "Oh come on! Do you have any idea how much those cost? I mean, between the parts and labor-" Amy swung at a Beebot, shattering it to pieces. Eggman slumped. "Aw, jeez…"

"Speaking of that…" Tails tapped his chin, glancing at the doctor. "How do you get the money and resources to build your robots and bases? You replenish them like it's nothing!"

"It's none of your business, rodent!" There was no way Eggman was going to share his success in stocks because somehow they would find a way to screw him over and have him living in a cardboard box on the street. "And it isn't 'like it's nothing'! Each loss hurts me financially!"

"And emotionally." Sonic didn't miss a beat.

"I did not say that, you walking pincushion!"

"But it was implied, Eggy."

"You were implied!" Eggman immediately regretted his anger-fueled words, laughter echoing in the room.

Rouge smirked. "That was a good one, doctor. I should write that down somewhere."

Eggman sank more into the couch cushion, a heavy sigh escaping him.

While Sticks used her boomerang to take down the machines, Knuckles was using raw force, stomping and punching anything in his way.

The echidna ran up to the Mega, and Sonic was struggling to control it. He ended up smacking himself out of the hovercraft, landing right on Eggman.

Knuckles snorted. "That's one way to do it."

Cubot and Orbot winced. "He's gonna be feelin' that tomorrow…" the former whispered.

Eggman couldn't free himself, and Amy noticed. "Hey! Eggman crushed Sonic!"

Knuckles turned from a destroyed robot. "Get him!"

Back at the crater, Tails was still there.

Tails smiled. "Here we go!"

He was scanning the meteor, swatting away a fly buzzing around his head.

However, he was drawn away from the readings when a lizard crawled on the rock. It used its tongue to try to eat the fly, but it kept missing. The flu eventually landed on the meteor, and when it did, purple lightning flowed through the lizard and the fly.

The lizard then flapped its arms to attempt to fly, and the fly was seemingly angry at the reptile.

Tails watched them walk off. "Wow...did they just switch brains?"

"And there it is! The revelation!" Tails exclaimed. "Now he could tell the others what he found!"

Knuckles nodded. "They'll believe him too because he's Tails."

Metal frowned as he peered down at his own body, a building pressure inside gaining his attention. "What is this feeling I have? It is similar to a pressure below my stomach."

Everyone looked at him for a moment before it clicked.

Sonic froze. Okay, maybe the soda was a bad idea…

Tails was severely concerned for the condition of his sofa. "That feeling is you having to use the bathroom!" He quickly explained, Knuckles looking extremely uncomfortable now. Tails' gaze was a mix of stern and petrified. "And...And if you ruin my couch, you're paying for another one!"

"...I could simply steal another if you wish."

Rouge covered her mouth to stifle her giggles.

"Look, Metal." Sonic started, hoping that they didn't have much longer before they switched back. "Just hold it until the show's over! Can you do that?"

"I can do anything you can better."

Sonic took that as a yes. "Good! So now we can just-"

"...Uh, guys? I don't think I should've drank that soda, because I gotta go too…"

The gazes switched to Amy — who looked embarrassed — and Rouge couldn't retain her mirth anymore. While she laughed, Knuckles got off that danger zone of a couch, took a few steps, and the extra weight of his tails caused him to crash to the ground.

He wasn't mad though. At least he was safe.

Shadow hadn't taken his eyes off Amy, his glare heated. "The hell you do!"

"Don't yell at me!" Amy snapped, wiggling a bit in her seat. That soda was a really bad idea... "It's not like I want to go to the bathroom in your body!"

The pink hedgehog whipped his head in the blue hedgie's direction and barked out, "Metal, how much longer until this damn episode ends?"

Metal shrugged.

"Faker!"

"How in the heck am I supposed to — two minutes, ten seconds."

"That's such a long time!" Amy whined.

"Rose, you are staying there." Shadow nearly snarled. "Hold it!"

Tails glanced between the pink and black before lingering on the latter. "...What I said before goes for you too, Amy!"

Rouge wished that she had been recording that whole conversation. She would've made millions.

At the fight, everyone paused when a honk pierced the air. They all turned to see Tails riding up in his own mobile. Eggman and Sonic had gotten to their feet.

"Sonic is Eggman, Eggman is Sonic!" Tails shouted as he parked.

Knuckles remained in his laying down position, not paying any more attention to the disaster behind him. "It's about time."

Eggman, seeing the meteor in the back of Tails' mobile, zoomed over and took it. He went too fast though, bouncing against the vehicle and landing by a tree with the rock.

"Wait…" Knuckles spoke up. "What did Tails say?"

Eggma waved him off. "Oh, nothing!" He stood up, meteor still in his grip. "You know Tails! Always the jokester." He chuckled, but when multiple glares were aimed at him, he stopped.

"Even he's not stupid enough to keep up the act." Eggman shook his head at the sight of another defeat. They only had two minutes left, and he doubted his twin could take over in that amount of time.

Metal peered over at Amy, who was letting out nearly inaudible whimpers. "It is not that uncomfortable. Stop overreacting."

"If you don't want me to punch you in the face again, Metal, hush!"

He remembered the pain and decided that he would let her suffer in peace.

Tails took this time to explain. "When Eggman and Sonic touched the meteor, they switched brains!"

Amy gasped in surprise.

Knuckles deadpanned. "Oh yeah, big surprise."

Cubot threw his hands up in the air. "How come nobody told me?" Orbot patted him in comfort.

"In order to swap back," Tails continued, "they both need to touch the meteor again!"

"I wish that we had a special meteor," Sonic commented.

"Yeah…" Tails subtly looked at Amy. "Especially right now…"

Eggman tossed the rock to the ground with a wicked grin.

Sonic frowned. "Come on, Eggman. Just touch this and give me my body back!"

"You can't make me!" Eggman tainted. "I'm the fasted evil genius on the planet!" He sped past off of them to an empty spot on the beach. "Now I'm here!" He zipped to a slightly closer spot. "Now I'm there!" He then twirled closer, laughing. "Nothing can make me touch your stupid purple rock!"

"That would've been more intimidating if he hadn't just twirled."

Knuckles propped his head up and responded to Rouge, "Eggman would be more intimidating in general if he didn't do a lot of things."

"Nothing?" Sonic asked before smirking. "Not even…" He pulled one side of his mustache taut and held a pair of scissors close to it. "...a close shave?"

Eggman stiffened, eyes wide.

Rouge hummed loud enough for the former human to hear. "You are overdue for a trim. Mind if I-"

"Yes!" It took Eggman years to grow his mustache out, and he took are of it everyday like it was his own child. "Don't you dare touch it!" His voice had gone up a few octaves.

Rouge held her hands up innocently, glint in her gaze anything but. "Calm down, doctor. It was a simple question. No need to get so defensive, hm?

He felt the embarrassment flow through his system, hearing chuckles once again aimed at him. His voice was back to normal. "You are the worst, bat."

"So I've heard."

Eggman glared. "You wouldn't dare."

Sonic wasn't fazed. "Oh I would dare!" He moved the scissors into prime snipping position.

Eggman couldn't maintain his glare, concern etching into his features.

Sonic rose a brow. "So Eggman, what's it gonna be? The speed or the 'stache?"

Sonic knew this episode was as good as over. "He's done for."

Eggman was losing steam, becoming more worried by the second. Sonic stepped on the meteor and pushed it forward.

The blue hedgehog couldn't hold out any longer. He lunged forward, yelling "Stop!" at the top of his lungs. As soon as he touched the rock, purple filled the screen.

The next shot was Sonic, back in his own body, playing volleyball with the rest of his friends.

Please be over soon, please be over soon, please be over soon…!

Those were Amy's thoughts as she rocked back and forth.

Eggman was watching them from his lair. "So close… I was so close to finally defeating Sonic!" The human was in a chair at his desk.

"He was…" Tails agreed. "For about a minute or two."

From behind him, Orbot and Cubot were chuckling to themselves.

"What are you two laughing at?" Eggman asked, nearly growling.

"Nothing, boss!" Cubot placated.

Eggman did growl this time, turning around in his chair, revealing the same Sonic mark on his head as before.

The robots fell on the floor laughing, unable to hold it in.

They were all silent for a moment, watching the TV fade to black.

They sat for a good thirty seconds, and nothing happened.

"Oh no…" Amy was officially freaking out now. "Ohnoohnoohnoohno!"

Metal furrowed his brow. "This is...mildly concerning."

"Only mildly?! I have to pee in a boy's body!"

"Amy…" Tails blinked in surprise at the glossiness of her eyes. "Amy, are you crying?"

"No!" She violently wiped her face. "I'm not crying, you're crying!"

Eggman knew it was bad since she had reduced to using his type of horrible comeback.

Shadow growled. "Stop making me cry, dammit!"

"I'm not crying!"

Rouge frowned, though she was amused by Amy's situation, she was still stuck in an aging man's body. "What do we need to do to get it to reverse us back? Watch another episode?" Please no.

"Yeah...I doubt they'll make it," Knuckles bobbed his head in Amy's and Metal's direction.

"I won't be able to make it in this tin can!" Sonic hit his head on the couch. "This is stupid! We watched the episode, so why-"

A bright white light blinded them.

Amy released a loud relieved sigh when the horrible pressure stopped, leaning heavily against the couch. She saw her pajamas, her hammer, and her own precious body. She couldn't keep in the laugh. "We're back! It returned us to our bodies!"

"It should've never taken us out of them!" Eggman growled, stretching his arms because he was allowed to now.

Tails sat up on the floor, looking over his visible fingers. "I got really worried for a second there!"

Knuckles threw a couple sharp punches into the air, loving that he was freed of those noodle arms. "Who wasn't?"

Rouge got to her feet. She felt a hundred percent healthier as she went to retrieve her boots that Eggman had monstrously tossed earlier. "If there are any scuffs on these…" she muttered to herself as she examined them.

Metal took a cookie from the box and held it up to his face. He then stared at Eggman. "Why did you overlook giving me a mouth, doctor?"

Eggman huffed. "Well, I'm sorry Metal for not remembering to give a weapon of mass destruction taste buds!"

"...the Ultimate Lifeform has them."

Shadow himself wasn't listening to their conversation, too busy wiping any hints of tears from his face and cursing the existence of emotions.

Sonic would've danced upon returning to his old body — breathing and having a heart beat was so nice — but he had more pressing matters to take care of. He turned to Shadow, raising a brow. "You goin' first?"

Shadow scowled at him before calming standing up and heading in the direction of the bathroom, the blanket falling to the floor.

"Well, it's been fun-"

"Don't lie."

The bat playfully glared at Knuckles as she finished putting on her boots. "-but I'm going to go before anything else happens. There's only so much of that a girl like me can take."

"Find us a way out of here, please!" Amy pleaded, not wanting to go through another round of torture.

Rouge winked at her. "That's the plan, hon. That, and bringing Shadow some coffee back because he's going to crash sooner or later." She strolled over to the front door, her pace quicker than normal. She released the breath she'd been holding when the door willingly opened up. "Keep watching the show though, in case I come up empty."

"You better not, bat!" Knuckles exclaimed. This house was nothing but horrors.

She grinned at him. "Don't worry too much, sugar. I'll make sure that the Master Emerald's in safe hands."

"Rouge!"

The door slammed behind her.

While Knuckles groaned, Tails stood up and jogged over to the exit of the home. He tugged on the door, but it didn't budge. He slumped. He knew it had been wishful thinking, but… "We can't leave still…"

"But that's okay!" Sonic smiled reassuringly at him, happy to have a mouth again. "We'll get outta here soon enough!" His blue ears twitched at the sound of Shadow's return. He hopped to his feet as Shadow sat back down.

Amy saw the scowl on the black hedgie's muzzle and remembered how unnatural some of her own facial expressions felt while she was controlling his body. "You know Shadow, it's okay to have more than one emot-"

"Don't."

---

Whew! They're back to normal again, and Rouge's going to get some help! Will the crew actually escape the house before the series is over? Probably not.

Reviews and constructive criticism are welcome!